p****d off

Sorry you are feeling fed up, who wouldn't after what you have been through. I think this period of healing is a time to be kind to yourself and make sure you take care of yourself, it's all too easy to think that you should bounce back but it's not always that simple.

I hope you start to feel much better very soon, I have no doubt getting that catheter out will be a huge relief.

Merry Christmas

Allison

Cheer up Andy.... http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif

Most of us have been through days when we have felt down....

I think it's only natural to feel like this at times.

For my part I found it difficult to accept that I felt perfectly well before my op but 24 hours later returned home as a temporary  'invalid'

When your catheter is  removed you will feel a little more mobile and slowly over a period of months you will return to fitness again..

I still have to use pads daily but am slowly improving......I think maybe I'm taking a little longer than I had hoped for in that respect and that can also make me feel despondent at times.

When I'm feeling low I take a reality check  by looking at my histology results and realising how lucky I am to have hopefully caught this cancer in time...

Good luck with your catheter removal......I'm sure once that is out of the way you will be well on the road to a full recovery

Best Wishes and Seasons Greetings 
Luther

Edited by member 21 Dec 2014 at 11:12  | Reason: Not specified

Hi Andy -- Wise words from fellow-posters. Coping with this disease & the after-effects of treatment can put one through the emotional wringer at times. Feeling sorrowful and p****d-off shouldn’t be labelled “self-pity”, but if it persists or shades towards depression, as Steve says, there is help available.

6 months on from RALP, I've also suffered weight-gain through post-op inactivity, & have been down in the dumps from time-to-time. My other half has recently deposited both 5-2 diet manuals on my bedside table, which took a fair amount of self-control not to fling into the nearest re-cycling bin, BUT, I may give it a go -- after Christmas, of course !

Good luck with catheter removal appt on 24th ! Let us know how you get on.

Best,

Morris

Edited by member 22 Dec 2014 at 14:39  | Reason: Not specified

Hi Andy,

If it makes you feel any better - realistically it probably won't - but the period after the op whilst still catheterised rather got to me too and I felt a lot better about things generally once it was out and I was padded up.

I do hope your catheter removal turns out to be as easy as mine was - despite my fears about it, it was actually a total doddle.

Best Wishes

Patrick

Hi Andy,

The removal of the catheter is a major milestone in your recovery and one that usually goes without a hitch. Nothing to worry about, honestly. If it was I would say, no point dressing anything up and you getting a fright.

Now, as you are having your TWOC so near to Christmas, I would prepare for a few hiccups and issue just in case. I found that after my TWOC I leaked a lot, some others hardly leak at all and are as dry as the sand in an egg timer straight away. I found tat after TWOC I was so knackered trying not to leak and remain active that come the evening I was exhausted. I would then give up trying to stay dry and go with a Convene uri-sheath. A condom like device with a spout at the end which I would connect to a leg bag when I was just peeing myself all the time. I was using 4 level 2 pads a day for some weeks, and at night would "bag up'.

Now you may be dry straight away, but if you are not it may be worth your while asking about conveens and leg bags, JIC. I do recall that not every HT offers them. Have you also got waterproof sheets etc?

Excellent news though regarding TWOC, another sign that your recovery is going in the right direction.

ATB

Dave

Hi Andy

You never know how it's going to go.  My journey home was quite an experience.  However, I was dry at night straight away, and 8 months down the line, I only need 1 pad per day, which is never even half full now.

All our experiences are different - I hope all goes well for you.

Paul

That's good news, Andy. Hope the discomfort & bleeding has eased. Quite normal to piss oneself regularly at this stage, & as Countryboy says, this is a feature of so-called "stress incontinence" -- the stress in question being movement of most kinds, in my case especially of the bending-down-to-tie-your-shoelaces variety. Keep doing the pelvics & the situation will improve, but patience is the key. Everyone's experience is different, but post-TWOC last July I despaired at filling 6 Tena Level 2 pads a day & suffering regular bathroom accidents, but now the single pad I use is dry most of the time. Also be prepared over the next few weeks for the odd discharge of brown-ish fluid from the penis as the body will gradually rid itself of congealed blood from the site of the operation. When this happened to me I was rather shocked & unprepared, & it also turned out to be the time when my designated urology nurse was on holiday. Getting no response to my anxious voicemails from anyone in my PCT, I called the Prostate Cancer UK helpline, staffed by specialist nurses who gave excellent advice.

Here's to your continued improvement. All the very best for the Festive Season,

Morris  http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif

Leakage can be distressing but it will get better in time. It may be strange to say but a sense of humour helped me cope with potentially embarrassing situations.

Wishing you all the best - have a wonderful Christmas.